Monday, November 3, 2008

Fast Forward to Today

Well, that was a long time of no posting, but there were many reasons. One amongst them was my temptation to get lost in the overwhelming emotions of this political campaign season and say things in a tone I might later wish I had not used. However much we may disagree with the positions of certain (or all, for the more cynical among us) the candidates, and to whatever extent we may even find some of their actions, stances, or tendencies morally repugnant, they are, after all, humans just like us, however difficult that may be to grasp in soundbites and newschannel recapitulations of soundbites. A person who is a celebrity, or an ideologue, or a tyrant or a guru is still a person - with all the frailties and handicaps that ontological fact guarantees. I still regret that I am forced by political events to wear my hair in a ponytail or a tightly-wound chignon these days, but that is about as far as I want my snarkiness to take me.

What I will say about this race is that I cannot imagine how joyous it must be for the few surviving centenarian sons and daughters of slavesto see an African-American on the ticket for the highest office in the country.

I admit I became rather obsessed with the election. Then a sage coworker remarked the other day that what was weirdest about it all and most difficult to comprehend is that it will actually be over. And soon. No more heat, no anxiety, no minute-by-minute minute changes in arcs on graphs of Probable Iowa Voters. The end of a race, a change of face, and back to our lost jobs, wars, and debts. Put the party dresses back in the closet, and say a quiet prayer that at least something or other will change.